Tegucigalpa.- The President of the National Congress, Luis Redondo, once again dedicated a few minutes in his speech at yesterday’s plenary session to attack the National Anti-Corruption Council (CNA) and the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ), who he said are not supervisors, do not fight corruption and cannot summon deputies.
The statements by the head of Parliament were made in response to criticism from both civil society organizations regarding the delay in approving the budget of the National Electoral Council (CNE) that guarantees the primary and general elections next year.
He specifically attacked the representative of the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ), Carlos Hernández, who asserted that drug trafficking financing for politics will continue because the required electoral reforms have not been made.
“I want to refute these braggarts, especially because the only request we had in this branch of the State, which is in consultation, from the Clean Policy Unit is an increase of 10 million (lempiras) and that they become an autonomous body because the approved funds are approved for the National Electoral Council and then they are transferred to them,” he explained.
I ask Carlos Hernandez: “Why didn’t they say anything about the financing of drug trafficking when it has been revealed in the United States courts of justice? Why did they keep quiet for decades? Of course, it is natural that they kept quiet because they even helped to whitewash Honduras with a false signature that was made with Transparency International.”
Redondo mentioned that there are many who have conflicts of interest because they were helping drug trafficking and corruption in the country.
He added that “this group of friends who get together to distort the news because there are many people here who have nothing to do and love to go around making things up.”
As is his custom, Redondo read his traditional “legal analyses” to criticize the work done by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and even listed the cases in which the legal status of these civil society entities can be removed.
He said that both the CNA and ASJ are not supervisory bodies and do not fight corruption.
“Neither the CNA, nor ASJ, nor the friend they have, who by the way is extremely offensive and irrational, none of them have the powers that they have conferred and they should not continue lying to the Honduran people,” he said.
She revealed that she has information about a case in which the previous Attorney General covered up the head of the CNA and that is why she never took action against him.
The head of the Legislative Assembly claimed that the fact that an International Anti-Corruption Mission (CICIH) is currently being sought in the country “only reflects the historical failure of the CNA in Honduras.”
NC Budget
He listed some historical facts about the last elections in Honduras. He pointed out that for the 2021 elections, decree 157-2020 was approved on November 26, 2020 and published in La Gaceta on December 30, 2020.
Likewise – Redondo continued – for the November 2021 elections, decree 60-2021 was approved on August 5, 2021.
Meanwhile, for the 2017 elections, decree 171-2016 was approved on December 15, 2016 and published in La Gaceta on December 26.
“All those who repeat that we are delaying the approval of the budget should look at history and I assure you that all those who remained silent in this case, who today make assertions that we do not want to approve the budget, I assure you that we will approve it, and we will also approve the money that is needed to ensure democracy,” he concluded.
